Welcome to the Show
by sisterawesomeness
Summary: Ember was just trying to live a decent life when she's transported to Cybertron. Follow her as she joins the crew of the Lost Light and what will happen? I'll let you help decide!
1. Prologue: Nothing Matters

I stood there seemingly staring off into space. I didn't care. Nothing mattered. None of it mattered anymore. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I felt like I should say something… Anything. But I couldn't.

All of this… It couldn't be real. It couldn't. But as much as I wanted to deny it I couldn't. It didn't matter if I closed my eyes and covered my ears. I could tell myself it wasn't real. I could lie but it didn't matter.

I found my voice then. And I screamed. I screamed at the top of my lungs. As loudly as I could. Tears poured down my face. All of this in front of me. It meant nothing that had happened to me mattered. Everything I did never mattered then. My life didn't matter. It never did.

I kept on screaming as my world fell apart. I could take the lies; I understand sometimes the truth isn't good enough. That people deserve more. I could take the sneers and laughs behind my back. Being the only human on a ship full of bots didn't exactly spell out easy. I could take being ignored… No one noticing me. I was so small and often quiet it wasn't hard for the big loud giant behemoths not to see me. I could face the con who destroyed my life… Who had taken everything from me. And I'd hugged him for the love of Primus.

But this… It was too much. How much was I supposed to be able to handle? Not this. My voice cracked as I kept on screaming. I couldn't tell if I was screaming, crying, or a weird mixture of both. My world was practically coming to an end. What was worse was the knowledge that it didn't matter. Not one little bit. That was the part I couldn't handle. I suppose everyone has their breaking points. And as I was engulfed with sadness so thick it felt like nothing else existed I found mine. I fell to my knees and faintly become aware of the fact that the sadness was slowly giving way to numbness. But I couldn't make myself care. Anything but this was better. But things would never be the same.

It didn't matter after all.


	2. The Death of Optimus Prime: Part 1

**This story will be told in first person but go into third with plot points she may effect. Also, I'm going to let all of you awesome peeps out there decide who she will end up with. I only have a few rules. **

**Number one: she just can't get with Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Drift, or Ultra Magnus. I see all of them as more fatherly figures or big brothers for her. Anyone else is fair game. And I mean anyone. **

**Number two: If you want her to get with two characters I need specifics. Like if you want her to get with Rewind and Chromedome say so, or Brainstorm and Perceptor. I know the second isn't cannon but I support it. **

**So please let me know! Also I own nothing but Ember. An important note is that not all the Cybertronians are speaking English. Remember that.**

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><p>I groaned as my eyes slowly opened. My head felt like a lead weight as I struggled to get back up. When I did I didn't recognize the landscape. For a moment there was dead silence, before I fixed my aid and then I heard the faint sounds of this strange metal planet. It sounded like it was ripping itself apart. The landscape was mostly barren but there was strange pinkish lava off in the distance. <em>Where am I? How did I get here? I don't remember what happened…<em>

I felt a headache forming as I forced my mind to help me deal with the strange situation. I turned in a full circle to try and make sense of it. It did not help in the slightest. At least I could breathe wherever I was. "EEP!" I called out in alarm as the ground started to fall out from under me.

But before I could fall, possibly to my death, a giant metal hand came out of nowhere and saved me. I looked up to see a giant metal red and blue robot. His eyes were shining blue. "Are you alright?" his voice was a little off but I fixed my aid again and he came out normal.

"Y-yeah," I answered wondering how he spoke English. Wait a minute… I'd heard something about giant alien machines on the news. Was this one of them? Were we on his planet? How in the world did I get there? "Thank you."

* * *

><p>He nodded. Optimus Prime did not fully understand what was going on. One moment he was dead and the next he was resurrected on Cybertron. He was not sure what he'd find. A young frightened human was not in his list of possibilities. "How did you get here?" he inquired. Was she alone?<p>

"I don't know. One minute I'm walking down the street," she answered. "The next I'm here. Do you know what's going on?"

Had she been brought here like he had? In any case it was not safe for them there. He'd have to find better ground. "I'm afraid not. But I do know we are both on a planet called Cybertron," he answered as he followed his GPS.

"Cybertron? Is that near Earth?"

"I'm afraid not. You cannot recall how you arrived here?"

"No," she shook her head looking out at the landscape as he walked with her still in his hand. It was not safe for him to put her on the ground. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safer. I am Optimus Prime."

"I'm Ember. Ember Stone. I know my name's weird."

"I do not think it is strange. It is unique."

* * *

><p>I couldn't help but smile at what he said. Usually people made fun of my name. Though I was still confused as all shit. He walked for what might've been hours. He told me about what had happened to him before he ended up there. About this long war between Autobots and Decepticons where numerous bots and people died. I felt horrible. How Earth was entangled in the fight for a good while. This guy looked like he'd lived a million lives. Like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. I'd never be able to understand what he went through or the implications of their war. "I'm sure you did your best," I told him. Not that it meant anything coming from me.<p>

We finally came upon what looked like a bombed metal city. Guess we weren't alone after all. There were more Cybertronians all over the place. Though for someone as important as Optimus no one seemed to notice him. I didn't see any Autobot or Decepticon symbols like the ones Optimus had described. Were these guys on neither side?

All of them were so much bigger than me. "Hey, Pax!" a rude sounding voice interrupted my thoughts. "Orion Pax! You've got a lot of nerve showing your faceplates around here!"

Nice welcoming. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, friend. I don't know who you are."

"Take a look around you! Satisfied? This is all your fault!"

"If that is the case then I apologize," Optimus replied. "The last few days have been somewhat chaotic."

"The last few days? The last few days?! Try the last four million years!"

"The NAIL bothering you Optimus?" another voice spoke up.

"Sideswipe!"

"NAIL?" the guy previously yelling asked.

"It's an acronym," this new red guy stated getting in the smaller one's face. "One of Prowl's. 'Non-affiliated indigenous life forms.' NAIL. I like saying it. NAIL. NA-IL. You're a NAIL. Suits you."

"You know what I like about NAILs?" this one eyed guy asked.

"Hammering them?"

"Hammering- Ah beat me to it."

"No one's hammering anyone, Whirl," Optimus told one eye getting in between them.

"Good to see you, boss," Sideswipe stated. "Rodimus said you'd be okay. What happened to you? Where've you been? Why do you have a human with you? What's it like to be a hate figure?"

"You'll forgive me if I ignore all those questions in favor of one of my own: What the hell is going on here?"

* * *

><p>So we were led to some area that held all sorts of bots. We met someone named Rodimus who was nice enough and Bumblebee who walked with a cane and I think he'd seen better days. Something about this Vector Sigma and now all the neutrals and such were showing up. There were more of them than anyone could've predicted. And none of them were very happy at how their planet ended up.<p>

"And what you continue to do by playing the part of the occupied force," none more-so than this Metalhawk guy.

"Metalhawk," Optimus looked down at him as I was still in his hand.

"I'm surprised you remember me, Orion Pax."

"I remember you ran."

"Burn," I couldn't help as I spoke up for the first time. They all sort of looked at me like they either just noticed me or I was an even stranger alien to them. "What? It's the truth." Well… This sucks.


	3. The Death of Optimus Prime: Part 2

**You have to tell me who you want her to end up with or else I'll pic some bot, or bots, on my own. Just remember the rules I listed in the previous chapter.**

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><p>"What?" I looked at everyone staring at me.<p>

"Wicked," Rodimus smiled at me. "You speak Cybertronian?"

"Huh? No. You guys are speaking English," I countered. That garnered some confused looks.

"No Ember," Optimus spoke up. "We were speaking your native tongue before. But now we are conversing in our language."

"But how can that be?" I sort of trailed off. How could I be speaking another language and not realize it?

"Getting back to the matter at hand," Metalhawk interrupted. "I had a duty to my people; to Cybertron. You were killing our world." He turned and headed for the door. "We were inspired when Dai Atlas and the Circle of Light left-"

"The Circle was a cult," Optimus countered. "And we were better off without them."

"'Autobots," "Decepticons"-you were all cults," Metalhawk looked out a window. "Make no mistake-I do not represent another fraction. I represent Cybertronians. And we want our world back."

"They technically count too," I pointed back at the others. "You're all from the same planet."

"What would you know of this?" he asked me. "This war did not destroy your world but it very well could have."

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><p>Things spiraled down from there and ended with Metalhawk basically saying it was time all of them left. I didn't know exactly all that had happened but he sounded like a jerk to me. What were the bots supposed to do let the cons take over their world? I guess some people just needed to bitch about something.<p>

"See what we've been putting up with, Prime?" Rodimus asked him. "Now, you're back. You got the Matrix. Just open it up and it'll-I don't know-tame the planet and everything can go back to normal."

Optimus gently handed me to Rodimus as he opened his chest. He pulled out two pieces of what might've been a circular metal ball. "That's easier said than done," he told them. I had the feeling this Matrix wasn't always a useless ball. By the looks on everyone's faces were any consolation.

Optimus then wanted to see of what became of all the cons. He wanted me to stay with the bots where he thought I would be safe. But I insisted on going. I had my reason but they didn't need to know it. So he reluctantly agreed and held me once again as Bumblebee led us around. We came upon some weird looking large gun thing with a net force field looking device placed over it.

"You've herded them into the barrel of Kimia's gun?" Optimus looked at him. "I don't like this, Bumblebee." I peered out from where I was sitting to look at the numerous Decepticons. There were so many of them…

"Well, yeah," the yellow bot replied. "But we had to do something while they were still weak after becoming part of that… That weird gestalt monster thing."

"I don't belong here!" someone yelled. "I'm not one of them!"

"Prime, we can make a deal," another called.

"Optimus," a strange purple bat thing flew over to where we were standing near the fence. "A word perhaps?"

"Oh please," someone commented.

"Optimus, surely you can help a senator whose reputation had been unfairly tarnished…"

"Ratbat," Optimus used his free hand to point at him and I could tell he wasn't going to deal with this guy's shit. "Whatever your title, your time is long gone. You all chose the wrong side: now live with the consequences."

"I'm not finished Prime!" he yelled after us. "Decepticons demand equality!"

"Is this place secure?" Optimus inquired. I still looked back at the cons but there were too many of them for me to tell if the one I was looking for was in there or not.

"Well, they're all outfitted with I/D chips to, uh, keep track of them and." He stopped to let out a sigh. "Honestly, Prime? I think they could get out if they wanted to. But where would they go?"

* * *

><p>Optimus had some other bots to see about the Matrix but I offered to stay behind on that one. Said I wanted a breather. He nodded and told the others to keep an eye on me to make sure I'd be ok. Luckily for me he didn't designate a specific babysitter and everyone was really busy with their own thing. Leaving the perfect opportunity for me to sneak away.<p>

It took me a while to retrace the path we'd taken but I did and came right up to the net thing that held in the cons. From the look of it even the smallest bots couldn't have squeezed through. But I was just small enough to fit in between the gaps it had. I braced myself as some of them began to notice me. I bravely stepped forward and ignored most of the glances I got.

"What the-"

"A human?"

"On Cybertron?"

"Where did it come from?"

"Why is it here?"

"Can I squish it?"

I adjusted my aid again as I looked around. But none of them were the con I was looking for. I thought maybe he'd be here… If the bots had all the cons rounded up then it meant he had to be here. Right?

"Human," the bat thing from earlier landed on a piece of metal and looked down at me. "You were the one with Prime earlier. Weren't you?"

"Yes," I answered still searching.

"You must be very brave…"

"Or very stupid," some red, blue, and white guy interrupted him. "In case you haven't noticed fleshy we're not Autobots. We'd offline you as much as look at you."

"Silence Starscream," I bat looked at him. "It isn't very often we have a guest. No need to be rude. I am Senator Ratbat. Might I know your name my dear?"

"Ember Stone," I answered.

"You really think this meat-bag could get you in good with Prime?" Starscream went on. "I know Prime's fond of them but still…"

"Would you be quiet for a click?" he looked back at me. "What a unique designation. Now are you lost? Or did you come here for a specific reason? You look as if you're searching for someone."

"I am," I answered. "Though I don't think you'll be able to help me. I don't see him and if he's not here then he must be dead. Truthfully? I'm not sure what I would've done if he was even here. It's not like I even know his name."

"Who if I may ask?"

"I'm looking for the Decepticon who killed my father," I looked right at his face.

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><p><em>The chapters will get longer but this seemed like a good place to end for now. <em>


	4. The Death of Optimus Prime: Part 3

**I'm going to assume you've read this series if you're reading this. If not read that first so I'm not going to repeat everything line for line. **

**Also unless you guys vote I won't know who to pair her with. But remember my rules from chapter one!**

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><p>"I'm sorry?"<p>

"My father," I pronounced more clearly. "You know, one of the two individuals responsible for my creation. My Dad!" The last part came out a little louder than intended but I composed myself. "But the con who killed him must not be alive. Or if he is he isn't here with you lot. Well… I guess I'll stop wasting your time. Sorry." I turned to leave.

"Wait, wait, wait," Ratbat flew over and hovered above me. "Might you put in a word for us?"

"Now we need a squishes help?" Starscream sneered. "Pathetic."

"Perhaps you could mention to Prime that we've changed. If I knew who was responsible for your father's death I would bring him to justice myself. But just because of one bad spark we should not all be punished."

"So…" I didn't really believe what he was telling me. My intuition was telling me he was lying. "I heard Optimus tell me his side of the story. But what about yours?" I was curious. Why exactly did that one con kill Dad? Why were they the ones in this fence and not the bots? Oh boy did I get an explanation. Ratbat filled me in on what he knew along with Starscream and whoever chose to pipe in now and again with their own take. I couldn't tell if they were lying. I was beating they exaggerated certain parts. But… Maybe in their minds they weren't lying. Or if they were they believed their own lies. I once heard someone say everyone's a hero in their own story. Guess it was no different with these guys. But I felt the need to listen anyway.

Maybe it was because one of them had killed the only person who ever mattered to me. Or maybe it was because I knew there were two sides to every story. That even if these guys did turn out to be bad they still deserved to be heard. Like that Metalhawk guy said, what did I really know about this war? Well if I was ever going to get my facts straight now was the time. But holy shit these guys liked to talk.

* * *

><p>Eventually it turned what I was assuming daybreak? Uh how long was I missing exactly and would anyone notice? I got my answer to that question soon enough. Turns out Optimus finished up and had come back to check on me. He was not happy to find no one knew where I'd gone. No one assumed I'd gone off to walk smack into the cons. Until Ratbat mentioned how I was listening to them when one of the bots walked by.<p>

Can we say overreact much? This one bot named Prowl seemed to come out of nowhere and demanded I be turned over. He got some backup and everyone had their weapons at the ready. Except Optimus who just plain looked ready to rip someone's head off.

No one calmed down until I showed up and calmly explained I wasn't being held hostage and that no one had harmed me. In fact, the cons let me walk right back out of their imprisonment. "Remember what we told you Ember Stone," Ratbat told me. "You're a clever human. I'm sure you'll see things clearly."

* * *

><p>Things went downhill pretty fast from my point of view. These NAILs got more pissed off and within a few days they practically formed a mob. I even saw someone made a makeshift puppet of Optimus and was hanging it. "That's… Excessive," I noticed looking out the window. They kept screaming how they wanted the Autobots out. So the guys came up with a plan. Well, two plans really.<p>

"The map that Perceptor found in the Matrix," this Drift guy stated. "It's not just any map. It's the map. It shows the way to Cyberutopia-to the Knights of Cybertron themselves!"

"The Knights of Cybertron," Bumblebee countered. "As in the fictional Knights of Cybertron?"

"The original Cybertronians! They turned this planet into a paradise and then left to spread peace and enlightenment across the universe."

"And that was supposed to be what… Ten million years ago? And what we think we know about them is based on contested text and artifacts of dubious authenticity."

The argument went on like that for a while. Rodimus agreed with Drift and Prowl agreed with Bumblebee. Rodimus wanted to leave to figure things out seeing as the NAILs didn't want them around anymore. Prowl and Bumblebee argued they needed to stay and work on their home. I noticed they tended to get louder as the argument progressed. Until a freaking bomb exploded and sent all of us flying in various directions.

If Optimus hadn't had ahold of me I would've crashed into a bloody wall. As it was I sat up and adjusted my aid before it could fall out. Though my ears rang a little. "Ow," I mumbled. "What the hell?!"

"Are you alright?" Optimus asked and I nodded. I guess the bots were being beaten pretty badly so Prowl decided to sick the cons on them. It looked pretty ugly and that Metalhawk guy got hit. Optimus had him brought in with us to be looked over.

The guys began their argument anew only this time the Ultra Magnus fellow agreed he'd go with Rodimus. The fighting still ragged on outside and I couldn't help but think they were all acting like a bunch of kids who didn't want to share the sandbox. I might've been human and a guest on this planet. And I had no real idea what the war meant to all of them. But they were the advanced robotic race. Weren't they supposed to be smarter than this?

While everyone else kept talking I went over and managed to get on top of what remained of the banister. There was no way they'd all hear me over the racket they were making. So I took off my aid and adjusted it. In return it made possible the most annoying sound one could ever hear. I also know it bothers dogs in my neighborhood and by the way these guys reacted I knew they were able to hear the high pitched noise I couldn't. I fixed it and put in back in my ear.

"Good," I looked over at the ground who'd momentarily stopped fighting. "Now that I have your attention. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU?!" I knew I must've been loud because my aid had no trouble picking it up. "I'm the alien here and even I know this is messed up. Look… I don't know what all happened here but you're all Cybertronian whether you like it or not. Bots, cons, NAILs, doesn't matter. You're planet's messed up no changing that. But fighting isn't going to help any of you. You've all lost enough during this war. Why waste more life?"

"What do you care?" someone shouted. "This isn't your home."

"Yeah, go back to your own planet organic!" someone called out and threw something at me. It missed but barely.

"That's low," one bot noted. "She's not even half your size!"

"Why do you care?"

"There's a saying on my planet," I spoke up. "That only true evil can happen when good people stand by and do nothing. You guys wanna bitch about the war? Well that's fine. You ran away to avoid conflict. I get that too. But don't you dare blame the bots and cons. I'll admit they had a heavy hand in this. But all of you did too. Would you rather both sides not change anything? Or that the cons had won instead of the bots? This was a screwed up situation and no one was gonna win. But all of you did nothing to stop it. So stop acting like you're all high and mighty when you're no better than anyone else."

Before anyone could speak up Optimus came up behind me. He acknowledged what everyone was thinking. But he asked that the Autobots be allowed to stay on Cybertron. In return he'd leave. The uproar from everyone at that made me take my aid out again.

* * *

><p>"You were brave back there," he told me later that day. "It could not have been easy."<p>

"What you did couldn't be easy either," I countered. "Something tells me they needed to hear what we both had to say. Optimus… I might be shooting in the dark here but can I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer."

"Go on."

"Are you a little happy you're leaving? I know most of the war was on you. Now… Well I guess you're free. No one to worry about but yourself. No one telling you what to do or breathing down your neck. You can do whatever you want."

He looked at me long and hard. It was like he was looking right into me. In that moment I could sense he'd seen things I could only imagine. But it was also like I could see a great weight being lifted off of him. "You are not wrong. When I leave Optimus Prime will be no more. Instead, Orion Pax will be reborn." Though he looked a little sad at that as well.

"Hey," I patted him on the leg. "You deserve to be happy too. You can choose your own way now. Orion Pax."

"You may come with me is you wish Ember. I could even return you to Earth if you wish."

"Nah. I can't say why but I got the feeling I popped up here for a reason. I guess I'll have to figure out exactly what I'm going to do myself. But I wish you luck. Whatever's out there waiting for you… I hope it's awesome."

"And I hope whatever path you choose leads you to happiness," he replied. With that Optimus, or Orion, gave the broken Matrix pieces to Rodimus and Bumblebee before he took off in a shuttle. Though I felt in my gut this wasn't the last time I'd see him. I didn't know when, why, or how but my gut usually wasn't wrong. I watched the sky until I couldn't see him anymore.

"See ya later," I smiled. Now all I had to do was figure out exactly _what_ I was gonna do.


	5. Liars, A to D

**I know this is short but bear with me.**

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><p>Upon Orion's departure Rodimus then saw fit to become my guardianbodyguard. He seemed nice and all. I liked being around him and he had a good attitude. So I wasn't surprised when he made a big speech about going out to explore the universe. Ultra Magnus and Drift stood on either side of him. Meanwhile I sat on his shoulder. I wasn't sure why he wanted me to be there but he said after my little impressive speech yesterday I could only help his cause.

I have to say it was compelling. I didn't need to be asked and volunteered to go with him on this Lost Light ship. Cool name by the way. Prowl and Bumblebee though were not having it. "I refuse to allow Ember to join you," the short yellow bot stated. "She's either staying here or being returned to Earth immediately."

"What?" Rodimus countered while I still sat on him. "Why?"

"Besides the fact your entire plan is a sham?" Prowl countered. "It is far too dangerous for her. Does your ship even have the capabilities of supporting her?"

"Already ahead of you," Rodimus smirked. "Perceptor's building her a set of armor and outfitting the ship with a nice life-support system that's human friendly."

"She's not leaving," Bumblebee was adamant about this.

"I don't see how you can stop me," I countered.

"You're an unofficial guest on this planet and I will not see you die or join a hopeless cause."

"It's not your choice to make. Unless you wanna shove me in with the Decepticons I don't see how you can hold me here against my will."

"You do realize we do not operate within the same parameters as Earth's law system?" Prowl inquired.

"There is no law in which you could detain her," Ultra Magnus actually backed me up. "So far she has not broken any laws and you are not entitled as her guardians."

"Neither is Rodimus," Bumblebee stated.

"Hello? Right here. I am an adult. I can make my own decisions. I appreciate that you guys are trying to look out for me but I'm a big girl. I can handle the consequences. So when do we leave?"

* * *

><p>Why did I agree to go? Oh yes. Blind ambition and a sense the universe held untold wonders waiting to be discovered. I was so stupid…<p>

I had no way of knowing what lay ahead for us. None of us did. Still… Even in light of what I'm facing. I cannot say I would've chosen differently.


	6. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

**Ember will not be getting with Rodimus. I view their relationship more brother-sister than anything else. Well, since no one's going to tell me who they want her to be with I'll have to make a paring up myself. Last chance people!**

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><p>The amount of bots who did show up for this was astounding. Rodimus and all the others were really busy getting the ship ready and making sure everyone who came aboard was listed. Seeing as everyone was super focused I was basically left on my own. As long as I showed up to the ship in time to make launch I'd be fine.<p>

This planet wasn't like Earth that was for sure. I wasn't sure I'd miss it. Heck I didn't miss Earth that much. This was all too exciting. But… I had another one of my feelings. This wasn't going to be the last time I was on this planet. What that spelled for us on the ship I had no idea.

I was so preoccupied I didn't notice some bots walking near me toward the ship. Turns out I noticed them about the same time they did me. "Hello," a bot twice as big as myself greeted me. "I'm Rewind, this is Chromedome, and Ratchet. Wow. Sorry but I've never had the chance to meet a human before! Mind if I film this?"

"Excuse his enthusiasm," Chromedome told me. "It's his job."

"No problem, I'm Ember Stone," I smiled at the camera. We filled in each other as we walked.

"I'm surprised Rodimus let you run around all alone," Ratchet told me. "Scratch that. I'm not."

"He thought I could get there on my own."

"Well it's ten minutes to launch," Chromedome informed us as we kept walking. "You know Rewind, if you had a decent alt mode we wouldn't have to walk to the launch pad."

"Oh, it's started," Rewind countered looking at me. "The alt mode bashing. Every time you get agitated. Let's have a go at Rewind because he turns into a giant memory stick and not a…"

"Giant space super tank?" I offered.

"Yeah!"

"I just don't see the point of turning into a giant memory stick. You might as well be a monoformer!"

"Domey!" Rewind looked at me like I'd be insulted.

"No offense," Chromedome covered himself.

"No prob," I waved it off.

"Remember the old saying?" Rewind asked. "Everyone's shape serves a purpose."

"Tell that to Sky Lynx," Ratchet stated.

We stopped and I jumped as two bots came falling out of the sky and crashed down right in front of us. The blue one with one eye, didn't Orion call him Whirl, stood overtop an older purple guy. "Whirl?" Ratchet asked._ I was right! _"You okay? What's going on?"

"He attacked me after I found him desecrating corpses. I suggest you look away now if you have an aversion to exploding heads."

"Wow there!" I jumped in. I didn't really believe this Whirl guy. So there was no way I was just going to stand there as he blew someone's head off.

"He's offline Whirl," Ratchet backed me up. "Whatever he's done he's not a threat. Best lower the gun, eh?"

"You talking me down, doc? Is this you talking me down? Like I'm some kind of maniac that needs-that needs talking down!"

"I'm just saying-"

"No, I'm just saying, he started it. I'm finishing it. And a nice, clean head-shot is always the best way to finish it." He didn't get the chance as a strange pink light popped out of the ground and blasted right through Whirl. We all went over and glanced down the hole that had been created.

"Any chance of a hand?" we heard a voice call out.

"C'mere, pal," Chromedome reached down and lifted up a small white and blue bot. "I don't believe we've met."

"Have urgh," he grunted in pain and his legs looked wasted. "Have I missed the launch?" He looked over and saw Whirl's crumpled body. "By the shadow of the underbase! Did I do that?"

* * *

><p>Basically after that the new guy panicked thinking he'd killed Whirl. Rewind ran off to do a quick errand before we left. Meanwhile, Ratchet rounding everyone up so that he could fix them up on the ship. Once we all bolted there with our new arrivals, much to some bot named Red Alert's chagrin, I was requested up top with Rodimus and the others for lift off.<p>

"Busy day?" Rodimus asked me.

"No idea," I answered. Rodimus sat in the captain's chair and let me sit in his lap. Drift told him about Ratchet wanting to talk to Rodimus. While Ultra Magnus stated Bumblebee was calling and wanting to talk to him. Rodimus refused both as we were off.

Turns out we went out with a bang. The ship jolted and everyone either went flying or stumbled around as the ship seemed to semi-settle down again. I was thankful Rodimus had quick enough instincts to catch me before I went flying out of his lap. Sirens blared and the room turned red in warning as we were informed we'd quantum jumped too soon and were now halfway across the galaxy and flying blind. Not to mention a thruster exploded, a deck was in flames, and a hull breach that sucked out some crew members.

Rodimus said how they would touch down and find everyone. That no one died on his watch. He sounded reassuring and I wanted to believe him. But for some odd reason… I didn't. On the bright side Perceptor and some dude named Brainstorm finished my armor I could wear so I could go out and help look for our comrades.

* * *

><p>Little did any of us know back on Cybertron an important message was being sent. But no one was there to receive it. They believed us all to be dead. That we'd all died in an explosion. If only it were that easy…<p> 


	7. Hangers On

**Ok peeps I've decided who Ember will be paired with. But since I'm evil I'm not going to tell. Though some of you may be able to figure it out in the future. Until then…**

* * *

><p>I'll admit besides helping to find them visually there wasn't much I could do. Not like I was big enough, even with the new armor, to pick up and carry anyone. "Hey, Ember!" I recognized Rewind. "Why don't you come with us?"<p>

I looked to Rodimus who gave me a nod and I was off. "I know what it's like," Rewind told me. "Most bots think that just because we're short we can't do much. I'll help you show 'em wrong."

"Thanks," I smiled at him.

"Nice addition by the way," Chromedome added as we headed out toward some sort of lake. "Brainstorm make it?" he indicated my new pink armor. It matched my original outfit well.

"I think so," I stated. "No one told me. Rodimus just sort of handed it to me and said it would keep me alive outside the ship."

"What's it like to have to breathe?" Rewind inquired.

Our line of questioning one another continued for a while as we found a couple of beat up but alive bots. Though at one point we had to go back to the ship and get a pulley to pull someone out of a lake. He startled us when he woke up after we pulled him out. He was taller than Chromedome, had red eyes, and had a broken horn thing on his head.

"Rodimus wants everyone who crashed down back on the ship," Chromedome told him as he made Rewind and I back up. "That includes you." We peaked out from behind the bigger bot to see this new guy. He briefly glanced at the two of us before he huffed and headed toward the ship. "Come on," Chromedome practically pushed us along.

"Aw Domey," Rewind told him. "You ruin all the fun."

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Cyclonus," Chromedome glanced back. "Not someone you need to be involved with."

"It's complicated," Rewind stated.

"I'm starting to think everything around here is," I replied.

* * *

><p>A little while later Rewind was showing me what he turned into when we got some company. "It's Swerve and Tailgate," Rewind pointed out. "Let's go say hi." This Swerve guy was about Rewind and Tailgate's height. It was odd. These guys were supposedly smaller than all the others. Yet I was smaller still. I got a little chuckle out of that. But something told me my neck was gonna get tired from having to look up all the time. "Good to meet you properly Tailgate," Rewind made the first move. "When we saw you yesterday, you were having a bit of an episode."<p>

"Yeah, I thought I'd killed nut-job."

"Neat," Swerve looked at me. "I've never met an organic before."

"I get that a lot."

"Where are you three headed, anyway?" Swerve inquired.

"Back to the _Lost Light_," Chromedome answered. "Haven't you heard? Brainstorm's found the remains of Hyperion and Polaris. It looks like they were caught up in a piece of the ship when they crashed." Right as Chromedome finished that sentence a blue bot came crashing down near out little group. "This again?"

"I know," Rewind backed him up. "What are the chances?"

"Claw," the new guy got up.

"It's Skids right?" Chromedome corrected. "What are you doing here? We all thought you were de-"

"Just take off the damn claw!" this Skids guy demanded.

"Okay, okay," Chromedome took off some sort of machine thing that was hooked to Skids' back. "So fiddly."

As soon as he was free Skids took off and punched this giant yellow looking robot in the head and took it down. He landed like he'd done it a million times before. "Man," I gasped and we all stood there a moment.

"Wow," Rewind agreed. "It's times like this, I'm glad I have a camera bolted to my head."

"Nice moves!" Swerve gushed. "Who are you? An ex-wrecker? One of the warriors elite? An old pit fighter?"

"I'm a theoretician," he answered. After that we all headed toward the ship after it turned out Chromedome and the others didn't know what that thing was that was chasing Skids either. Though it was odd. Not just that Skids couldn't seem to remember anything. But that he also had forgotten about the gun he was holding.

"I've never seen someone like you," he told me as we all headed back.

"I've never seen someone like you either," I countered. "Nice moves back there."

"Thanks."

"You seem pretty agile for a theoretician." He said something but I didn't catch it. "Oh crap," I stopped and everyone else did too. "My aid must've come out. I can't fix it in the suit." I looked up and I could tell they were talking but I wasn't getting anything. "Sorry guys I can't hear you. Uh I can read lips though. Sorry Chromedome, Rewind I know that won't help you guys much."

"What's the problem?" Skids asked slowly.

"Oh I'm deaf," I told them. They all seemed confused so I elaborated. "I can't hear anything. At least not on my own. So I wear a hearing aid to help me out. But the stupid thing tends to pop out or need adjusting now and then."

"Really?" Swerve nearly got in my face.

"Yeep."

Rewind pointed to Swerve. "Oh he wants to know what happened. Was it some sort of accident?"

"No I was born like this. But we better get back to the ship. Rodimus probably won't like it if we're late."

* * *

><p>Once on board I was able to take off the suit and readjust my aid to hear everyone again. "You're even smaller without that armor," Skids noted. He actually lightly tapped me on the shoulder and I giggled at the silliness of the situation. "Softer too."<p>

"You guys really like tapping me," I tapped slightly on his leg. "But can't say I blame you. You're all new to me too."

"Looks like Rodimus wants you up top," Chromedome pointed out. I noticed and waved I'd be up shortly.

"See you guys around," I waved everyone off as Tailgate wanted to try transforming and Swerve was explaining to Skids the purpose of our voyage. "Something tells me you don't have a lot of good news," I noted all of their expressions as I joined Rodimus, Drift, and Ultra Magnus up on their balcony.

"Look at them all," Rodimus lifted me up to sit in his hand as he overlooked the crew. "What do I tell them?"

"The truth," Magnus stated. "We've lost contact with Cybertron, we can't find ourselves on the map, Ore is dead, Hyperion and Polaris are dead, but Cyclonus is happy so that's okay."

"I wouldn't exactly put it so bluntly," me and Rodimus shared a look.

"See," Rodimus backed me up. "This is why you're not a public speaker."

"I think you should accentuate the positive," Drift stated. "We've got the quantum generators working again-big tick, we're ready to resume our quest-big tick. And we've managed to save virtually all of the Autobots who got pulled outside-that's more of a little tick bit it's still a tick!"

"Probably go in between gloomy and overtly upbeat," I noted.

"Hm," he contemplated. "I think I'll go for a mixture of depressingly gloomy and offensively upbeat. Thanks, guys."

Not the best speech ever made but in light of the situation I couldn't blame Rodimus. I was thankful everyone's attention moved to the fact of what our merry little band was going to be called. No one could seem to agree on anything. Maybe they had short attention spans or didn't want to dwell on matters. That's when Rodimus got a call.

"Red Alert for you," Drift handed him what might've been a large phone. "He sounds a bit agitated."

"Red. What the-" I could hear whoever this Red Alert guy was freaking out on the other end. "Slow down… I can't make out what you're saying. What? What's not your fault?"

"It's not my fault this happened!" he screamed over the line. "I mean, I assumed this was a standard neutral ship. I didn't check all the rooms before we bought it. I didn't think-"

"This is what I sound like when I'm losing patience, Red," Rodimus interrupted his rant. "What precisely is the matter?"

"Rodimus," I looked at him. "Just calm down and tell us what happened," I told this Red fellow. "It's ok."

"Alright," he seemed to pause a moment. "Not sure whose there with you Rodimus but ok. I think there's a sparkeater on board!"


	8. The Chaos of Warm Things

For a moment Rodimus just sort of stood there as Red Alert repeated his message. "Did you hear me? I said there's a sparkeater on board."

"We heard you," I answered as I glanced up at Rodimus He stood there a moment longer before a smile crossed his face.

"Cool," he stated before ordering everyone to pair off and find a room. I wanted to roll my eyes how he added that this was unremarkable and unless they had grade A weapons or something then they were to not interfere. "Give them five minutes to find a hab suite then lock 'em in," he whispered to Magnus.

"Lock them in? You think they'd disobey orders?"

"I would," I told him. "So what's a sparkeater?" I inquired.

"A legend," Drift told me. "Our sparks are the source of our life force. They are our essence."

"Like a soul?"

"Possibly, only you can visibly see ours."

"So I'm guessing this sparkeater actually eats you guys? He's like your boogeyman."

"We'll compare notes later," Rodimus looked around. "I want you to find someone and go to a room. No disobeying me on this one," he informed me putting me on the floor.

"Why?" I looked up at him. "I don't have a spark like all of you. So this thing probably won't care about me."

"We have no way of knowing if that's what this incident even is. And I don't want you in danger. Hey, Rung!" he indicated an orange bot that looked like he was wearing glasses. "Mind taking Ember with you until this is over?"

"Aw," I lightly whined as I joined the other bot. "Alright, but you guys be careful. You hear me?"

"Got ya," he smiled and waved as they all headed off. "No fair," I grumbled. "Rewind gets to go with them." The smaller bot nodded to me before he joined Chromedome. "Hello," I turned my attention to this Rung fellow. "I'm Ember. Nice to meet you."

"Rung," he smiled back and I couldn't help but feel somewhat at ease in his presence. "Now shall we? We're in a bit of a time crunch."

"Good point," I stated. We talked as we walked and it turns out Rung is the ship's psychiatrist. He came aboard in order to help his patients. That was pretty cool of him. We finally came to a more isolated room and it was his office. "This is nice," I looked around. "Oh what are those?" I asked pointing to model ships that decorated the room.

"These?" he picked one up and leaned down so I could get a good look at it. "They're model space crafts," he told me. "Arks mostly."

"My dad had a collection like this," I said as he put it back on the desk. "But he did model airplanes."

"Really?" he stopped a moment. "You said 'had'. Did he find another hobby?"

I couldn't help it as a slightly awkward pause enveloped us. Rung looked me over like he might've said something wrong and I knew if anyone was gonna pick up on my signals it would be him. "Not… Exactly. But I don't feel like talking about it right now."

"I understand," he merely gave me a gentle smile. That's when the door burst open and some sort of crazed, drooling, machine that looked like it inhabited nightmares barreled through the doors. The thing even had tentacles! "Yahh!" Rung cried out in alarm as he deflected the door. He then picked me up and tried to get as far away from it as he could in the small office.

Looks like I wouldn't be missing the action after all. "The sparkeater!" I yelled. "Rung?" I looked as he made a gagging noise. He grabbed at his throat like something was wrong as the thing approached us. "What's wrong? Back off!" I yelled at the thing. "I mean it! I'll rip you open!" Either I wasn't threatening enough or it was beyond understanding language because it kept coming at us.

"Come here, eyebrows," Skids suddenly appeared out of a vent. "Nice seeing you again," he motioned to me as we began making our way through the vents. I held onto Rung like my life depended on it.

"Thanks for the save," Rung told him. "How did you know I was in trouble?"

"The terrified screams kind of gave it away. And I don't want to panic you further but that thing is right behind us."

"Holy Pete," I muttered. "This is like a horror movie."

"I've got an incoming message," Rung stated pulling out his communicator.

"Rung, Ember," Rodimus appeared on the screen. "Ultra Magnus tells me you guys might have a sparkeater on your tail, in which case I'm sorry. We thought everyone would be safe in their rooms, but it seems the hab suite doors are a lot thinner than the others down here…"

"Short version please," I heard that thing getting closer. I didn't want to see these guys eaten alive right in front of me.

"The doors down here are thicker. We think the neutrals trapped it down here and fed it turbofoxes to keep it docile. Listen, Rung I need you to do something for me. I need you to head down here to the engine rooms, and the sparkeater with you. I'll be waiting. Don't worry. I've got a plan and it's a cracker. Ember you best hold on."

"Congratulations," Skids told him. "How's it feel to be used as bait?"

"Skids," I lightly slapped his shoulder. "Get moving."

He popped off another vent. "Ok, so the quickest way to the engine rooms is down the elevator shaft."

"How come you get a grappling hook and all I get is a thumb with a microphone in it?" Rung asked him as Skids' hand transformed.

"That is awesome," I noted.

"A thumb with a-? Wow. No wonder our friend here is so interested in you. Speaking of which," he tossed Rung over his shoulder and me along with him as he took off down the shaft. "It's time we made a move!"

"You've got to be kidding!" I saw the thing nearly throw itself down the shaft after us. "Give up already!"

We landed with a 'thump'. Skids tore open another panel. "Engine rooms."

"What's going on?" some guy inside asked us as we barreled in. Wasn't this Brainstorm from earlier? One of the guys who worked on my armor?

Skids interrupted his line of questions for us. "Just take us to the damn engine rooms!"

"Never freaking mind!" I screamed as the sparkeater literally tore open the ceiling. I saw orbs of light inside of what might've been its stomach. Were those sparks? Oh my God he already ate people?!

"Go, go!" Skids pushed Rung and me out the door.

'But Brainstorm's trapped!" Rung countered.

"Then I'm sorry…"

"Run Brainstorm!" I told him as we made our own escape. Skids kept ahold of Rung as they ran while I kept glancing from my perch on Rung to see if it was still on top of us. We eventually reached these engine rooms after a maze of corridors that I deemed ridiculous.

"Rung," Rodimus stood there. "Over here!" I didn't like how Drift seemed to come out of nowhere and block Skids from joining us. I really didn't like it when Rodimus grabbed ahold of Rung and held him up in front of him. "I'm sorry. What I'm about to do isn't very pleasant."

"Rodimus," Rung cried out in alarm. "Please I must protest. You're hurting me!"

"Rodimus! Let him go right now!" I was able to yell at him. He ignored both of us in favor of actually asking the sparkeater to come our way. "This plan better be good!" I yelled as it came barreling at us. At the last second Rodimus pushed us out of the way. He grappled with the sparkeater and I looked on in horror. "Holy shit! Rodimus!" Rung had landed on the floor and I hoped off of him like I could actually do something to that monster.

"Now Perceptor!" he called out. "Now!"

Then we made another jump. This time there wasn't an explosion but it was still enough to knock me off my feet. "Ow," I moaned and jumped back up after we stopped. "Oh my Lord Rodimus!" I cried out. The sparkeater looked like it was stuck in the engine itself, and so were Rodimus' arms.

"Wow," Drift noted as we all collected ourselves. "That was just… Wow."

"And I thought I was the risk taker," Skids noted holding one of the sparkeater's tentacle things.

"Are you alright?" I asked running up to where he was stuck in the engine. "Your arms!"

"Don't worry Emme," he smiled at me. "Ratchet can make me new ones. No damage done. Remember this. First rule of interstellar travel: never stand next to a quantum generator when it's about to flout the laws of nature…"

"I'll remember that, Roddy," I smiled back at him. "Now will someone please call Ratchet?!"

* * *

><p>Sometime later I had to explain to Rewind and company what happened and everyone compared their notes to mine. Whirl was really excited to tell me how he went after the sparkeater and that it killed his roommate. Bummer. Though I was happy when I found Brainstorm was still alive. For some reason the sparkeater left him alone in favor of running after us. I couldn't help but feel a little bad for the thing. None of this was its fault. It was just like an animal trying to survive. I wondered who exactly it was the guys bought this ship from. They were the ones responsible for this. And the death of how many turbofoxes to boot. They were so cute… Though I felt sick at their torn up bodies. I think it was decided by everyone right then to never let me see another dead body again. Even if it was mechanical in nature.<p>

"How you doin' Roddy?" I asked checking up on him in the medical bay. His arms weren't normal but at least there were some there. Tailgate was being fixed by Ratchet in the other room.

"Better now you're here Emme," he offered me one of his new hands and gently lifted me to sit on his lap.

"Emme though?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Eh I like your name and everything but Emme suits you. Besides, Roddy?"

"Good point," we turned to see Ultra Magnus come in the door. "Hi, Ultra Magnus."

"Ember," he nodded at me. "How are the arms?"

"Good as new. Actually, they are new. Ratchet rebuilt them from scratch."

"Rodimus. What you did-"

"Hey, don't mention it. You know what they say: no guts, no glory."

"Was completely unacceptable," Magnus continued. "If you want to put your own life at risk, go ahead. But using Rung and endangering Ember like that…"

"Are you lecturing me? Is this a lecture?"

"No, this is me telling you something no one else will. Ember here is too kind and clearly more concerned with your wellbeing. And certainly not Drift. He looks at you in awe, as if you're some kind of… I don't know."

"Remember who you're talking to," I noted how serious Roddy's face got. "While you're on this ship you answer to me, not the other way round. Are we clear about that? Not the other way round."

"Please don't fight," I told them. "You both have valid points."


	9. Epilogue: Ember's Log

**Please read the end note!**

**I was thinking at the end of each story I could have Ember make a sort of log. Just something I thought was cool. I own nothing but my OC Ember. The song used in here is Welcome to the Show by Britt Nicole.**

* * *

><p>Later that evening I sat there in the room I shared with Rodimus. It was pretty nice seeing as he was the captain. I didn't have time to bunk with anyone else earlier, after all I only hung out in Rung's office before the sparkeater showed up. Plus no one asked. Roddy just announced we could share a room unless I wanted to bunk with someone else. I accepted his offer. Currently, the captain of the <em>Lost Light<em> was out cold in his bed. I couldn't blame him. It'd been a really long day. If I wanted to get technical I could add in how Cybertronian days were longer than Earth days.

But strangely I was still a little energized. So I decided to try and write down a few of my thoughts. I was never big on journals or anything but I'd give it a shot.

Ember's log number 1, the date…. I have no idea.

That sparkeater incident was insane and the little rhyme Rewind told me about will most likely be stuck in my head for a while. The quest didn't start on the best note but I have a good feeling. I'm sure we'll get in touch with Cybertron soon. If not… Well, I'll try to focus on the positives.

I figured I'd try to write down everyone I've met so far on this journey and my initial thoughts on them. Here it goes:

**Rodimus**: Lost Light Commander/ Former Holder of the Matix: Really nice if not a little brash at times.

**Ultra Magnus**: Second in Command/ Duly Appointed Officer of the Tyrest Accord: Appears to take his job very seriously.

**Drift**: Third in Command: Upbeat and has a positive attitude.

**Brainstorm**: Weapons Engineer: Made my armor and seems to be a genius.

**Ratchet**: Chief Medical Officer: A great medic but I cannot say much about his personality yet. Will look into it further.

**Red Alert**: Director of Security: Can talk really quickly when he's freaked out.

**Whirl**: Warrior: Uh… I'll have to get back to this.

**Rung**: Psychiatrist: Nice and collects models. I know he can manage under pressure.

**Swerve**: Metallurgist: Very talkative and curious.

**Chromedome**: Mnemosurgeon: Decent enough but I don't know much about him.

**Rewind**: Archivist/Historian: Really kind and friendly. I like him and hope to converse more in the future.

**Cyclonus**: No clue: I can't tell.

**Tailgate**: Bomb disposal: I can't believe he's so old.

**Skids**: Theoretician: Can kick some serious butt but has no memories of what happened to him. Reminds me a lot of myself actually.

Not much else to say besides that. Until next time. Though I can't help but be reminded of a song. Odd thing to think about at a time like this but it seems to fit the mood. I think I'll record it in here for shits and giggles. Not like anyone else is gonna read this besides me anyway.

"**Now's the time, get in line, don't be afraid tonight.**

**We're gonna take you high, before you realize**

**'Round and 'round you'll go, up and down, never slow.**

**Feel the excitement grow, oh**

**This is where you let go.**

**Hands high like a roller coaster.**

**This love is taking over**

**Take us higher here we go.**

**Oh, oh, oh**

**Welcome to the show.**

**Gravity we're defying**

**'Cause we were made for flying.**

**We're about to lose control**

**Welcome to the show.**

**Oh, oh, we're on a mission nothing, nothing, can stand in our way.**

**Oh, oh, we don't need permission**

**We're gonna rise up and we'll be the change.**

**Oh, oh, hear us on your stereo**

**Oh, oh, we're about to lose control.**

**Oh, oh, everybody knows**

**Oh, oh, this is where you let go.**

**Hands high like a roller coaster**

**This love is taking over.**

**Take us higher here we go.**

**Oh, oh, oh**

**Welcome to the show.**

**Gravity we're defying**

**'Cause we were made for flying.**

**We're about to lose control**

**Welcome to the show.**

**And put your hands u-u-up**

**We're gonna have some f-u-u-n.**

**We've only just beg-u-u-n**

**And it's too late to r-u-un, you can't run.**

**So put 'em u-u-up**

**We're gonna have some f-u-u-n.**

**Turn u the bass let it b-u-u-mp**

**We've only just begun, and you can't run.**

**Hands high like a roller coaster**

**This love is taking over.**

**Take us higher here we go.**

**Oh, oh, oh**

**Welcome to the show.**

**Gravity we're defying**

**'Cause we were made for flying.**

**We're about to lose control**

**Welcome to the show(2x).**

**We're gonna have some f-u-u-n**

**Turn u the bass let it b-u-u-mp.**

**We've only just begun, and you can't run(2x)."**

* * *

><p><em>Also to let all of your know I'll be writing stories that go in between or during the issues. If you want to skip over them that's fine but you may miss some interesting things. They will be titled Lost Tales of the Lost Light. <em>


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